


chase all the clouds from the sky

by dizzy



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Future Fic, Grossly domestic, M/M, married phan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 12:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7844518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/pseuds/dizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan and Phil adopt a dog. </p><p>And no, they're not keeping <i>that</i> as it's name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	chase all the clouds from the sky

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the phandom little pop 2016. Thanks to caustically for the art ([reblog it here](http://overcaustically.tumblr.com/post/149353534162/doodle-for-s-drabble-chase-all-the-clouds-from)!) and phanwich for beta reading!

"How will we even know?" Phil asks. 

They're in the back of a hired car. Phil has a folder open on his lap, flipping between sheets of paper. They've been planning for weeks. The printouts are from the Battersea website. 

Phil is ridiculous, Dan thinks. It's overkill of an extreme variety. It’s kind of wonderful. 

"We might not even find one today," Dan tries to remind him. "Or we might have to take the dog on a trip home with us first to see how we all get on." 

"Yeah, but..." Phil looks so distressed. He's never owned a dog before. “Won’t that confuse it? If we promise one a home and then end up returning it?” 

“It won’t know,” Dan reassures him. “It’ll just think it went on a nice overnight outing.” 

Phil’s still frowning. “I’d rather we take home the one we know we want to keep. But how will we know?” 

There's no way Dan can perfectly explain, so he just reaches over and squeezes Phil's hand and says, "When you know, you know." 

*

Dan's wiggling his fingers through metal bars at a sausage dog named Piggie when he hears Phil's laughter. 

His head swivels around. 

"Come look," Phil says, delighted. To the girl attending them he says, "Can we see that one? The black and white one?" 

Dan gives one more look at Piggie (who didn't seem to want much to do with him anyway) and crosses the kennel area to Phil. 

"Here we go," the attendant says, coming from around the side door with a [black and white mongrel](https://battersea.secure.force.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=00Pb000000dPUguEAG) who looks maybe half grown. "He's got a good temperament, this one. Good for first time dog owners." 

Dan and Phil both kneel so the dog can inspect them. Dan glances sidelong at Phil, trying to gauge exactly what it was that drew Phil to this one. 

Phil catches his eye then nods to the information sheet attached to the front of the kennel. 

Daniel the Spaniel. 

"Phil! No, we are not–" Dan stops talking, because Daniel the Spaniel has propped both paws up on Dan's knee and is trying to climb up his body to lick his face. "Did you really just–?” 

Phil grins. "When you know, you know." 

* 

The problem is, they do know. After twenty minutes of playing with Daniel, they both know. 

"Well, he can't keep that name," Dan says. 

Phil’s still laughing. “Why not? I’ve got quite an attachment to that name, I’ll have you know.” 

Dan leans in and whispers, “Yeah, but how confused will it be when it hears its name shouted at two in the morning?” 

Phil elbows him away. “Stop being rude in public, Daniel.” 

The dog barks and turns in a circle. 

Dan looks over at Phil, figuring his point has been made. 

* 

* 

The first night, he uses their hallway as a toilet twice. 

He shows no interest in any of the toys they bring. He lays down on the floor with a pathetic whine when they clip on his lead to take him for a walk. The garden is apparently terrifying as well, since he cowers behind Phil’s leg as soon as Phil opens the door. 

“Buy a whole new house just to give a dog a damn yard and he won’t even set foot in it,” Dan grumbles. 

But he also spends the whole night tucked up between them in bed and rests his head on Phil’s thigh while Phil’s watching his favorite interior design program and already knows how to offer his paw and speak for a treat and generally brings nothing but sunshine and delight into their lives. 

After two days the garden is no longer so scary and walks are quite alright as long as they’re willing to go back home when he decides he’s done and the toilet issues don’t happen again (until the next time that it rains). 

*

“I think we’re good at this,” Phil says. “Being puppy parents.”

It’s a sleepy Sunday morning. The weather’s nice and now that they’re just removed from London proper they can actually hear the birds outside. 

The dog is asleep at the end of the bed. 

“We’re fucking fantastic at it,” Dan agrees. He stifles a yawn in Phil’s shoulder as Phil absently strokes a hand over his back. “Could get another one, eventually.” 

“I think he’d like a friend, yeah. Another dog. Or.” Phil’s hand stills for a moment, then starts again. 

“Or?” 

“You know. We’ve talked about it.” 

Dan smiles and squeezes Phil into a hug. “He’s good with kids.” 

“But maybe another dog first,” Phil quickly says, like he’s afraid Dan will whip out the paperwork from underneath his pillow. 

It’s enough that they’re thinking of it, for one. One step at a time. 

*

Renaming Daniel is a process. 

For a week he is Dee, for lack of creativity otherwise.

For two hours on a Saturday afternoon, he is Dizzle, then Dan comes home and sets Phil straight on what makes and does not make an appropriate dog name. 

The name issue isn't really settled until the fifth time Dan wakes up and immediately steps into a pile of scattered items the dog has seen fit to deliver to their bedside throughout the night and doesn’t know what to shout. 

“Motherf-” 

“You can’t call him that,” Phil mumbles. 

Dan stares down at the dog. “You’ve been busy.” 

The dog lifts a paw at him. 

“He’s always busy.” Phil says, rolling over to try and sleep more. 

"Busy,” Dan repeats. “Bisy. His name is Bisy.” 

Phil doesn't understand the reference, but because it’s Dan he understands that there must be a reference. A few hours later Dan pulls a weathered, smudged copy of a book from his shelf. Phil reads the section Dan has marked, rolls his eyes fondly, and says: "Bisy. Welcome to the family." 

(And if something catches in Dan's throat at hearing Phil call them a family... well, it's just, when you know – you know.)

**Author's Note:**

> And this wouldn't feel right if I didn't tip my hat to [@daninthefuture](http://www.twitter.com/daninthefuture) and [@afuturephil](http://www.twitter.com/afuturephil). 
> 
>  
> 
> [Read and reblog on tumblr!](http://slightlydizzier.tumblr.com/post/149345831159/chase-all-the-clouds-from-the-sky)


End file.
